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Joint Commission releases requirements for imaging servicesJanuary 20, 2015 -- The Joint Commission has released updated accreditation requirements for diagnostic imaging service providers in hospitals and ambulatory care centers. Although the new rules emphasize imaging safety in positive ways, more specific guidance is needed, according to safety advocates.

What do patients really know about radiation and radiologists?January 16, 2015 -- While it's all well and good for radiologists to spend more time interacting with patients, it's important to understand what patients actually know about radiation and radiologists to do this effectively. Two studies presented at the recent RSNA meeting explored these questions and came to some surprising conclusions.

JAMA: Breast cancer diagnosis and survival vary by raceJanuary 16, 2015 -- Race and ethnicity influence the likelihood that women in the U.S. will receive an early diagnosis of breast cancer, as well as their survival after stage I diagnosis, according to a study published in the new issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Lung plus head/neck cancer screening delivers high yieldsJanuary 15, 2015 -- Head and neck cancer is too rare to screen for in the general population, but using CT to screen those who are also being checked for lung cancer draws a relatively high yield of malignancies, according to an analysis published online in Cancer.

CAD for breast CT is improved with spiculation detectionJanuary 15, 2015 -- University of Chicago researchers significantly improved the performance of their computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithm for breast CT studies by having it detect lesion spiculation automatically, according to a new study.

PET/MRI spots neuroinflammation from chronic back painJanuary 15, 2015 -- PET/MR images have led researchers for the first time to confirm evidence of neuroinflammation in key regions of the brain in patients with chronic back pain, according to a study published online January 12 in Brain.

Annual DBT screening could slash health costs, study findsJanuary 14, 2015 -- By reducing recalls and catching breast cancer earlier, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) could yield hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. healthcare cost savings if it were added to mammography for annual breast cancer screening, according to a new study conducted by Truven Health Analytics.

Twitter posts highlight patient fears over CT radiation riskJanuary 14, 2015 -- If tweets are any indication, many patients are concerned about the issue of CT radiation dose risk, and radiologists need to get more involved on Twitter to alleviate these concerns, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

CT's expansion puts emphasis on dose in Middle EastJanuary 14, 2015 -- At least 11 new CT scanners are due to be installed between now and March across Dubai and the north of the United Arab Emirates, and such rapid growth means the authorities are putting renewed emphasis on radiation protection and patient safety.

B-mode ultrasound spots subclinical atherosclerosisJanuary 13, 2015 -- Thanks to advances in automation and improved imaging capabilities, B-mode ultrasound can be used to assess subclinical atherosclerotic disease and better identify those patients who would benefit from medical intervention prior to symptom onset, according to research published in Global Heart.

Wireless mobile DR gets images into PACS faster than CRJanuary 13, 2015 -- Researchers from Hong Kong were able to obtain mobile x-ray images in their PACS network 70% sooner using a wireless portable digital radiography (DR) unit rather than a mobile x-ray system equipped with computed radiography (CR) plates, according to a January 6 article in the Journal of Digital Imaging.

What's in a name? Vague image header info complicates sharingJanuary 12, 2015 -- It's hard to find any institution that enjoys relying on CDs for image sharing purposes, but is everyone doing their part to usher in the new era of electronic image transmission? If research from MD Anderson Cancer Center is any indication, it doesn't appear that way.